Kyle Whittingham said he would have 90% of the staff completed by the weekend, and he meant it. But what started as a bold promise is now looking like a full-on delivery. While the pieces fell into place quickly, the top-tier hires are already in. To make it happen, the new Michigan head coach leaned on family ties.

While the defensive staff was a bit of a mystery beyond defensive coordinator Jay Hill, it is now fully in place with a recent NFL assistant. Kyle Whittingham’s son, Alex Whittingham, brings that final touch. Fresh off the 2025 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, the D-line coach now heads to Ann Arbor as LB coach.

While the school officially named Alex to the Michigan coaching staff on Saturday, the 33-year-old has been with the Chiefs since 2018, serving in multiple roles on the defensive coaching staff over eight seasons.

In Kansas City, he spent two seasons as a defensive assistant, five years as a defensive quality control coach, and most recently served as the assistant D-line coach. While Alex sharpened his craft alongside Steve Spagnuolo, one of the NFL’s defensive masterminds, the results showed. Under his guidance, Kansas City ranked inside the league’s top 12 in yards allowed per game in each of the past 4 seasons.

However, Kyle Whittingham’s son’s football story started closer to home. Alex walked on at Utah and played for his father from 2013 to 2017. Now, his NFL experience helps the Wolverines strengthen their defense, especially at linebacker. While Michigan’s scoring defense ranked No. 30 in 2025, allowing 20.4 PPG, his addition is expected to have an even greater impact in the upcoming season.

With Alex in place, Kyle Whittingham’s staff build continued with the addition of DBs coach Jernaro Gilford. While he spent the last 10 years at BYU coaching cornerbacks, he left a lasting mark there.

His 2024 defense led the nation with 22 interceptions. That success led to a promotion in 2025 as passing-game coordinator. Now, that pedigree heads to Ann Arbor, and he, along with the head coach’s son, will join a steady core.

While veteran defensive ends coach Lewis Powell brings 11 seasons under Whittingham at Utah, with a resume that includes eight NFL players and six draft picks, retention matters, too. Here, defensive line coach Lou Esposito stays on in a planned retention. Then, special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs is also back after arriving just days before Sherrone Moore’s dismissal, with Garrett Clawson retained as assistant special teams coach.

Now, while the defensive line looks 100% locked in, Michigan’s offensive line isn’t far behind.

Kyle Whittingham’s offensive staff looks locked in

Saturday brought clarity on the offensive side, too, as the staff is set. While Jason Beck takes the reins as offensive coordinator, Tony Alford handles the running backs. Then there’s Micah Simon. He leads the wideouts, while Jim Harding anchors the offensive line.

With Freddie Whittingham rounding out the tight ends, Michigan’s O-line is ready to make real noise in 2026. While Michigan’s offense ranked No. 69 in 2025 (71st by some metrics), averaging 27.5 PPG, this group could push that number higher.

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But with new faces coming in, some familiar ones won’t return.

According to MLive’s Aaron McMann, former Michigan assistants Brian Jean-Mary, Ron Bellamy, LaMar Morgan, Steve Casula, Wink Martindale, and Grant Newsome were not retained on Kyle Whittingham’s 2026 staff.

While change is part of the game, fresh energy replaces the old. Now we’ll see if this rebuild can bring Whittingham’s Michigan back to its golden days, or not.